Nadal Shocked, Djokovic Delayed in Monday Wimbledon R16 Matches
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Luxembourg’s favorite son and No. 16 seed Gilles Muller stunned No. 4 seed Rafael Nadal for the biggest upset at Wimbledon on Monday, outlasting the Spaniard in a five-hour battle 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13.
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“Definitely the biggest win,” said Muller, who beat a teenaged Nadal 12 years ago at Wimbledon. “Playing one of the guys who is dominating tennis again this year.”
Muller will next face No. 7 Marin Cilic, who served past No. 18 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
“I guess he’s pretty confident at the moment,” said Muller, who will rise into the Top 25 for the first time, and is 0-2 career against Cilic. “I’m pretty confident I will be in good shape for Wednesday.”
No. 6 seed Milos Raonic stopped one of the hottest young players on tour, defeating No. 10 Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. Raonic’s reward is a meeting with tournament favorite and No. 3 seed Roger Federer, who subdued No. 13 Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
“I feel like I’m rested enough,” Federer said. “I can look at this quarterfinal in a totally relaxed fashion.”
Another upset five-set winner was No. 11 Tomas Berdych who topped No. 8 Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
“I think I showed pretty good tennis,” said the 31-year-old 2010 Wimbledon finalist Berdych. “I think I had it pretty much under control the whole time, which was the most important thing, and I was just dictating the game.”
Berdych’s next opponent is the winner of No. 2 Novak Djokovic and unseeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, which will be contested Tuesday, pushed back after the Muller-Nadal five-hour epic.
With Nadal eliminated, now Djokovic is the lone player that can unseat world No. 1 Andy Murray during this Wimbledon fortnight.
Not to be left out, Murray defeated Benoit Paire in straight sets 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-4.
It was the 10th consecutive quarterfinal for the two-time winner. He has also reached the quarters or better in 24 of his last 26 Grand Slam events. While the score was straight sets, Murray was not at his sharpest, dropping two of his first three service games.
“I was able to track down a lot of his shots,” Murray said. “That’s a big part of my game. If I’m struggling and not moving well, it affects my performance maybe more than other guys who don’t rely on their movement as much.”
The Brit will in the quarterfinals face No. 24 Sam Querrey, who won a serving duel with unseeded South African Kevin Anderson 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-7(11), 6-3.
“Sam obviously likes the conditions here,” Murray said. “When he’s ahead he can serve well. He’s a good frontrunner. I’ll need to make sure I’m serving well and not letting him dictate too much.”
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